Did you know that the value of the stock market is off about 25 percent since September 2008? In the same period of time, the price of gold has increased nearly threefold?
In tough economic times, investors flock to gold as a rock solid investment when everything else is uncertain. Throughout modern economic history, gold has been a safe and reliable investment when stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments are in decline or are unreliable.
There are a lot of ways to invest in gold. One method that’s particularly novel is buying and selling gold nuggets.
Gold nuggets are pieces of gold that appear naturally. Scientists believe they are formed deep within the earth and are forced upward naturally over time. They often appear in watercourses, and can also be found in residual gold deposits where gold veins or gold loads have decayed.
Throughout history, prospectors have panned for gold in rivers and streams and many have made their fortune finding gold nuggets. Gold nuggets usually range in caratage from 20k to 22k, although there have been 23k nuggets found in Australia. Australia has been a major producer of nuggets, and some of the largest gold nuggets in the world have been found there, including the Welcome Stranger, which weighed more than 2,000 troy ounces.
Gold nuggets are particularly interesting to investors because their value isn’t completely tied up in the value of the gold itself. There are a variety of other factors influencing the value of gold nuggets, including point of origin and quality.
Gold nuggets may have value added by where they were prospected. Traders in gold nuggets place considerable importance on gold nuggets found in Australia. Some traders have favored points of origins, so you may find one trader who places a high premium on nuggets from Alaska and less on those originating from Georgia, while you may find another trader who has opposite values. This can make for some interesting buying and selling scenarios for savvy investors.
Gold nuggets tend to be worth more than their gold value along because nuggets are more scarce than other types of gold such as ingots, coins or bars.
If you’d like to buy gold nuggets, there are a number of places you can go to obtain them, including the Perth Mint and a variety of online sellers. Here’s a few tips you should be aware of when you buy gold nuggets.
– Be aware of the location. As we mentioned before, the location where the nugget was found can influence it’s value.
– Be aware of its quality. High quality nuggets are bright and shiny. Darker nuggets have high concentrations of other metals, like copper and are not worth as much.
– Compare the weight of the nugget and it’s price to the current price of gold per troy ounce. While it’s expected that you’ll pay more for a nugget per ounce than for another piece of gold because of nugget’s rarity, don’t pay too high a premium for the nugget. In general, don’t pay more than 25 percent more than the price of gold per troy ounce for a nugget.
Buying gold nuggets is a fun way to safely invest your hard-earned wealth in uncertain economic times. Not only do you get to rest assured that your money is safe, you also get a new, interesting hobby.
